The Speyside distillery have built up quite the roster of core releases over the years and this Trutina release represents the lightest [ed: fairest?] of them all.
The name “Trutina” translates from Latin as “honest and pure” and “balanced”, and is a fitting name as this is expression has been matured in one cask type only: bourbon. There is no indication of the age of the whisky, but the emphasis is on flavour and using bourbon casks only, without chill filtration or colouring. And that becomes very obvious when you look at the liquid. It is very nearly colourless. Like a very light white wine.
The standard expression was released in a batch of 18,000 bottles, with a further limited edition run of 1,500 featuring artwork from Speyside Distillery’s artist in residence, Joanna McDonough, as part of their Artist Trio collection. Both released at 46% ABV.
“My Trutina melody painting is like its accompanying whisky. The melody is the true tune of this spirit: it is honest and, like the tune, is a linear succession of notes which the listener perceives as the ‘music’ – the whisky is also a succession of tastes resulting in a ‘whole’ taste experience. The painting is honest and clear.”
Joanna McDonaugh
The standard expression is currently available from Speyside’s Snug (click here) for RRP £44 GBP – with the artist’s “Melody” package available at RRP £62 RRP.
Notes below are joint from samples of the standard and Melody releases.
Nose
Its all very light and sweet upfront. An initial icing sugar sweetness with a slightly floral note, like honeysuckle. A bit of time reveals a sweet fruit sensation that reminds me of pink lady apples. Particularly sweet ones, at that. The kind of sweetness you used to get with candy sticks. That floral note brings a little heathery note. Heather honey even.
Taste
Sweeties and floral notes are popping on the tongue. There is a citrusy zest that complements the sweet tingle of flavours that reminds me of the Swizzle sticks from Double Dip sherbet packets. There’s quite a grass/hay-like note too. A little biscuit=y note, which works with a vanilla flavour, like Custard Creams. A little honeycomb. Some fruity flavours such as apple, pear, white grapes, and peach. A final flourish and whoosh of oak spices.
Finish
Sweet and bitter oak flavours, with a cracked white pepper fizzle with that custard cream flavour remaining after all.
Verdict
A zesty, zippy sipper. (Try saying that ten times fast!) It certainly hits the brief if remaining pure and simple. The gentle bourbon influence is prevalent without taking away from the initial spirit’s fruity and citrusy flavours. It is balanced too – it doesn’t have any harshness that something simple would suggest. A light summery whisky that could act just as well as a before dinner or after dinner palate cleanser and an enjoyable one at that. There aren’t going to be hours of pontificating about this one. It’s just delivering a single malt with a bourbon edge, which, let’s not forget, is the basis on which the vast majority of the single malt market is built upon.
I first tasted the Trutina as part of exploring the new core releases under the Spey banner and have since tried the batch-releases cask strength version as well as the Artist Trio collection “Melody” bottling. All of which are remarkably pale in colour – and all credit to Speyside Distillery for not looking to the E150 for these. The white wine colour did bring about some white grape and peachy notes, and actually the cask strength version didn’t feel like it needed much dilution.
The Melody version of the Trutina was one of an Artist’s Trio, which each featured an artwork by their artist in residence (how many distilleries have those??), which were designed to emphasise the flavour profiles and the meanings of the Latin names for the Trutina, Fumare, and Tenne releases. A nice touch to a fan of the distillery, even if only adding collectible packaging – at a higher mark-up, of course – this is the whisky business after all!
Overall, the Trutina is very approachable: a gateway whisky for the beginner or a ‘breakfast whisky’ for the regular.
M
Sample disclosure: This sample was gratefully received as part of a promotional Tweet Tasting event run by The Whisky Wire for Speyside Distillery using #SpeysideDistillery on Twitter/X. All notes here are not intended as promotion but as an honest, fair and independent review of the whisky itself. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 
Leave a comment